Mark Pope not focusing on emotions of first win at Kentucky

Monday will be a day that Kentucky head basketball coach Mark Pope remembers forever, his first game at the helm for his alma mater. Leading the Wildcats to a 103-62 win over Wright State to start off his tenure in Lexington the right way.

Pope’s passion for leading a program that he once helped lead to a national title as a player has been evident throughout the offseason since he was hired for the job back in April. But following his first career win for the Wildcats, Pope put the emotions and magnitude of the moment aside.

“They asked me this on TV postgame and I’m just going to give you bad answers, because we’re just lost in the game,” Pope said after Monday’s win.

Pope’s Kentucky team was surely all in on Monday’s game, making 60% of their shots from the field while dialed in from behind the arc with 45.8% of their three-pointers falling. As six players scored in double figures and the Wildcats as a whole showed up on the defensive end as well.

“At some point, Lee Anne and I are going to find some quiet moment to sit back and drink a soda sometime in the next month, or two, or nine months, or some time. And I just look forward to that moment because we’ll really take it in then,” Pope added. “And it’s so deeply special to me, but right now, we got work to do and so we’re pretty, pretty locked in on the game.”

It’s no secret that Pope bleeds blue and does not take his new job lightly or his first career win for Kentucky inside of Rupp Arena for granted. But with sky-high expectations, a completely revamped roster through the transfer portal, and plenty of games left in the season, his focus is dialed in on setting up his alma mater for success.

Pope’s second game for the Wildcats tips off at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday when Kentucky hosts Bucknell.